Finding Aid to the Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California Records

Lara Michels
The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
(510) 642-6481
bancref@library.berkeley.edu


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library
Title: Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California records
creator: Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS C-G 127
Physical Description: 13 linear feet (6 cartons, 8 oversize boxes, 2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1863-1924
Abstract: The records of the Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California, including correspondence, reports, property records, legal records, financial records, and a few photographs.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California records, BANC MSS C-G 127, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Alternate Forms Available

There are no alternate forms of this collection.

Accruals

No additions are expected.

Processing Information

Processed by Lara Michels in 2012.

Administrative History

In 1863, the Mariposa Mining Company of New York was established to organize mining operations on the 70 square miles of John C. Fremont's Las Mariposas Estate in Mariposa County, California. The estate encompassed Bear Valley and was encircled by Mount Bullion on the east and the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada on the west. The Merced River ran along the northern line of the property. The Mariposa Mining Company operated, with some difficulty and constant litigation over title to the estate, until 1874, when it was bought out by the newly formed Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California, which assumed complete ownership of the Mariposa Estate. This new company owned and managed all facets of life on the estate, including the mines, water power, quartz mills, mill dams, engines, ore houses, dwellings, and stores. The principal mines on the estate were the Princeton, Josephine, Pine Tree, Linda, Green Gulch, Mariposa, and Mount Orphir mines. Ore was treated at the Orphir Mills, located on the Merced River and powered by means of the Benton Dam (and, after 1900, by the Benton Mills hydroelectric power plant).

Scope and Content of Collection

The bulk of the collection consists of the records of the Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California and its successor, the Mariposa Commercial and Mining Company. There are also a few records from the Mariposa Mining Company of New York, which was the first corporation to manage the Mariposa Estate (1863-1874). Included are correspondence (1875-1923) mostly to and from the company’s manager and secretary; mill reports (1904-1913); assay reports (1869-1913); reports on gold production and development work on the mines and estate; a large number of leases for tenants on the estate; lists of tenants on the estate; other documents relating to estate property, including recordings of legal proceedings relating to the disputes over title to the Mariposa Estate that took place in the period between 1863 and 1874; legal files documenting accidents at the mines; other legal files; financial records, including annual financial statements, cash account statements, cash books (including three from the 1860s and early 1870s that show purchases of supplies from local stores and include lists of local Chinese miners employed by the company), billheads, and mine employee payroll lists from 1887 to 1916; powder reports; materials relating to the operation of the Benton Mills Power Plant; and two photographs of the Princeton mine and its surroundings.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Hydroelectric power plants--California--Mariposa County
Mine accidents--California--Mariposa County
Mines and mineral resources--California--Mariposa County
Mining corporations--California--Mariposa County
Bear Valley (Mariposa County, Calif.)
Las Mariposas Rancho (Calif.)
Mariposa (Calif.)
Account books--California--Mariposa County
Billheads--California--Mariposa County
Cashbooks--California--Mariposa County
Financial records--California--Mariposa County
Leases
Photographs
Reports
Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California
Mariposa Commerical and Mining Company
Mariposa Land and Mining Company--Archives
Mariposa Mining Company of New York

carton 1, carton 2, folder 1-13, oversize-box 1, folder 1-6, oversize-box 2-3, 8

Series 1: Correspondence. 1875-1923

carton 1, folder 1-27

Correspondence, 1875-1909

carton 2, folder 1-12

Correspondence, 1910-1923

carton 2, folder 13

Correspondence, undated

oversize-box 1, folder 1-5

Correspondence (letterpress books), 1899-1906

oversize-box 2, folder 1-6

Correspondence (letterpress books), 1906-1913

oversize_box 8

Correspondence (letterpress books) 1909-1916

carton 2, folder 14-33, carton 3, folder 1-14, oversize-box 4, folder 5, oversize-box 7, folder 1-3

Series 2: Reports and Administrative. 1869-1915

carton 2, folder 14-25

Mill reports, 1904-1913

carton 2, folder 26

Report of Assays, 1869-1871

carton 2, folder 27-33

Assay reports and certificates, 1893-1908

oversize-box 7, folder 1-3

Assay reports, 1902

carton 3, folder 1-6

Assay reports and certificates, 1909-1913

carton 3, folder 7

Gold production and bullion deposits, 1895-1914

oversize-box 4, folder 5

Production statements, 1900-1909

carton 3, folder 8

Ore data and bars, 1902-1915

carton 3, folder 9

Report on the Princeton Mine, 1901

carton 3, folder 10-13

Mine development work, 1899-1907

carton 3, folder 14

Applications for employment, 1905-1906

carton 3, folder 15-18, carton 4, folder 1-21, oversize-box 2, folder 7, box 2, folder 2

Series 3: Property. 1861-1918

carton 3, folder 15-28

Leases, 1870-1904

carton 4, folder 1-15

Leases, 1899-1918

carton 4, folder 16

Abstract of title of the Louis Trabucco Garden near Bear Valley, Mariposa County, Calif., 1861-1887

carton 4, folder 17

Leases/tenants on the Mariposa Estate, 1878-1914

box 2, folder 2

Tenants on the Estate account book, 1889-1890

carton 4, folder 18-19

Property records, assorted, 1874-1918

carton 4, folder 20

Deeds and mortgages, 1861-1875

carton 4, folder 21

Mining Claim application for Grays Flat Placer, 1875

oversize-box 2, folder 7

Record of legal actions regarding land and property of the Mariposa Company and the Mariposa Estate, 1864-1881

carton 4, folder 22-24, carton 5, folder 1-7

Series 4: Legal. 1902-1924

carton 4, folder 22-24

Mine accidents, legal documents, 1902-1924

carton 5, folder 1

Mine accidents, legal documents, 1905

carton 5, folder 2-6

Legal documents, assorted, circa 1902-1905

carton 5, folder 7

C.W. Langan vs. Mariposa Commercial and Mining Company, circa 1915

carton 5, folder 9-33, carton 6, folder 1-36, box 2, folder 1, 3-5, oversize-box 3, oversize-box 4, folder 1-4, 7-8, oversize-box 5-6

Series 5: Financial, Insurance, and Supplies. 1863-1919

carton 5, folder 8

List of shareholders, 1908

carton 5, folder 9

Shareholder records for the Mariposa Mining Company, 1863-1865

box 2, folder 4

Cashbook, 1864-1866

box 2, folder 1

Cashbook, 1870-1872

box 2, folder 3

Cashbook, 1870-1871

oversize-box 5, folder 1-5

Journal entries, circa 1902-1914

oversize-box 6, folder 1-4

Journal entries, circa 1908-1911

carton 5, folder 10-23

Statement of accounts, 1899-1917

box 2, folder 5

Statement for the year, 1904

oversize-box 4, folder 1-3

Monthly cost sheets, 1905-1906

oversize-box 4, folder 8

River Mill costs, 1905

oversize-box 4, folder 7

Receipts and disbursements, 1906-1911

carton 5, folder 24-33

Payroll lists and summaries, 1887-1916

oversize-box 3, folder 1-8

Payroll lists, 1903-1911

carton 5, folder 34

Census of laborers, 1910

oversize-box 4, folder 8

Labor distribution, 1922

oversize-box 4, folder 4

Petition for deductions from payroll for relief of injured worker's family, 1902

carton 6, folder 1-2

Billheads, 1880-1907

carton 6, folder 3

Receipts for hauling concentrates, 1905-1913

carton 6, folder 4-16

Financial statements, 1881-1910

carton 6, folder 17

Statement of the Alice Mine, undated

carton 6, folder 18

Cost sheet for the Dam on the Merced River, circa 1900

carton 6, folder 19-25

Cash accounts, 1872-1919

carton 6, folder 26

Trial balance sheets, 1906-1909

carton 6, folder 27

Commercial contracts, 1903-1905

carton 6, folder 28

Vouchers, 1901-1902

carton 6, folder 29

Merchandise segregation, 1910-1916

carton 6, folder 30

Financial, miscellaneous, circa 1902-1914

carton 6, folder 31-33

Insurance, circa 1908-1911

carton 6, folder 34

Equipment correspondence, 1899-1906

carton 6, folder 35

Assessment lists and inventories, 1873-1914

carton 6, folder 36

Supplies received and consumed, 1877-1905

carton 6, folder 37-45, box 1, folder 1-5

Series 6: Benton Mills Power Plant and Powder Reports. 1877-1911

carton 6, folder 37-40

Powder reports, 1877-1905

carton 6, folder 41-45

Benton Mills Power Plant, 1902-1911

box 1, folder 1-5

Benton Mills Power Plant, 1902-1911

box 1, folder 6, oversize-box 4, folder 6

Series 7: Photographs and Other Pictorial. circa 1900-1915

box 1, folder 6

Photographs, circa 1900

oversize-box 4, folder 6

Maps, drawings, and specifications, 1900-1915